Ultrasonic thickness gauge



H. E. \IAN VALKENBURG ETAL 2,839,916

ULTRASONIC THICKNESS GAUGE Filed Aug. 19, 1954 June 24, 1958 FIG.I

I VARIABLE AMPLIFIER I FREQUENCY AND I CRYSTAL SEARCH UNIT ss OSCILLATOR DETECTOR MOTOR ISOLATING I AMPLIFIER I SYNCHRONIZER COUPLANT 3| I4 l2 SWEEP CIRCUIT,

RECEIVING TRANSDUCER 27 (CATHODE RAY TUBE KlRANSMITTOR TRANSDUCER RECTIFIER AND PULSE METAL BAR k SHAPER, I 26 37 J as 34 i FIGQZB FIG.2C

2,839,916 ULTRASONIC THICKNESS GAUGE 'Howard E. Van Valkenburg, Candlewood Isle, and

Edward G. Cook, 'Brookfield, Conn.', assignors to Sperry Products, Inc, "Danbury, Comm, a corporation ofNew York Application August 1 9, 1954, Serial No. 450,846

2 Claims. c1. 73-678) This invention relates to devices such as disclosed in the patent to Rassweiler and ErwinNo. 2,431,234 granted November 18, 19.47, whichha'veastheir object'to indi- .cate the resonant frequency as a'mefasure of the thickness of the work piece. The theory underlying these devices is that at resonant frequency there is a change in the efiective electrical impedance of the composite acoustic system comprising the piezo-electn'c element, the couplant and the work piece. For this purpose a variable frequency oscillator drives a crystal search unit which transmits acoustic waves through a couplant into the workpiece. The sweep of a cathode ray tube is synchronized with the energization of the oscillator so that the length of sweep corresponds to the range of frequencies and, hence, to the range of thicknesses of work piece. The occurrence of resonance is accompanied by a surge of current through the oscillator and can be detected and displayed as a large vertical deflection of the sweep. The position of such large vertical deflection on the sweep is a function of the thickness of the work piece, and various methods have been employed for calibrating the face of the cathode ray tube directly in terms of thickness. The method most frequently employed consists in transmitting the range of oscillations into a standard block of known thickness. This gives a calibration on the sweep corresponding to one known frequency and, therefore, one known thickness. Additional calibrations may be obtained by utilizing additional standard test pieces of known thicknesses. These calibrations have proved to be neither accurate nor stable, principally for the reason that the capacitance of the electrical system (tubes, cables, couplant between transducer and work piece) varies during operation. Thus, a test piece of known thickness will yield a calibration mark I along the sweep which varies in position under variations in operating conditions, or, stated differently, if a calibration mark is fixed upon the cathode ray screen, there is no assurance that the thickness of work pieces tested thereafter will be correctly indicated.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention. to provide calibration marks on a cathode ray tube, which marks will be stable and accurate under operating conditions which may vary the capacitance of the ultrasonic testing circuit.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will any known type'emplpying;a fvariable capacitor whereby the frequency maybe continuously variedithrough a predetermined range byflmeans of a"motor 17 driving the capacitor. 'When' a, frequency reached such that a resonant conditionexists, maximum currentwillfsuddenly be drawn from the oscillatory circuit, 'and this rapid change in' current flow afterbeing suitably amplifiedbya jsignal amplifier 20, maybe indicated on any'appropriate instrum nt, such as a cathode ray tubef25 having a sweep between horizontal plates 26, jtliejsignal beingappliedv to vertical plates, 27. The motor" 17 drives .a synchronizing mechanism 30 toenergizethe sweepcircuit 31 iiiSyhchronization with the, generation of jojscillations through the 'rangeof frequencies. When. resonance is e'stablishe'd, ,a

sharp indication .403will ppear oni' the screen, andft'h'e position of. this indication-along the sweep'is a function of the frequencyand, therefo'rcof'the 'thicknessjof' the work 7 p a'y be marketer -tr. catlioderaytubesc'reen it has been the practice, as stated in the introduction hereto, to provide marks obtained by substituting standard pieces of knownthickness in place of the work piece 12. Thus, referring to Fig. 2A, a calibration mark 50 is obtained in position A indicating a predetermined thickness; If a work piece of the same thickness as the standard piece is tested, it should yield an indication 40 in position A coincident with calibration mark 50. However, as stated hereinbefore, various factors such as temperature, changing tube characteristics and variations in couplant, all combine to vary the capacitance of the electrical system from oscillator to work piece with the result that even though the work piece is of the same thickness as the test piece which yielded the calibration mark 50, the resonant indication will appear not at position A but at position B as shown in Fig. 2B. This condition apparently indicates that the workpiece is of different thickness from the test piece which yielded calibra- 50, instead of being fixed relative to the sweep, will vary their positions in response to the variations in capacity of the electrical system so that thesemarks will be affected in the same manner and to the same degree as the indications of resonance in the work piece. For this purpose a portion of the electrical signal which drives the crystal 11 is fed into an isolating amplifier 33 whose output is caused to pass through a calibrated length of bar 34 by means of transmitting transducer 35 and receiving transducer 36. The bar will resonate each time the frequency of the acoustic wave is such that the length of the-bar is equal to an integral number ofhalf wave lengths. Thus if the length of the bar is 5.75 inches long, it will be equal to1a half wave length for a frequency of 20 kc., and fifty resonances would occur as the frequency varied from 1 to 2 me. These points of resonance would occur for each increment of 20 kc. The output of the receiving transducer 36 is'fed into a rectifier and pulse shaper 37 which converts the fifty resonance signals into fifty marker type signals which are applied to the vertical plates of the oscilloscope and would appear as fifty calibration marks; It is thus apparent that the calibration piece 34 is subject to the same variations in capacity in the electrical system as the workpiece, and the calibration marks will vary their positions along the sweep in response to such vari- Thus, variation in capacity which wouldcause i 33 316 reteste u s. 24, s

3 in determining the thickness of the Work piece-relative to the thickness of the calibration piece will arise.

Having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Measuring means vfor a work piece, comprising an electrical sy'stem 'includingia' variable frequency electric oscillator, a first piezo-electric transducer engaging the work piece and energized by the oscillator for transforming electrical oscillations into .mechanical oscillations, means for cyclicallyvarying the frequency of the electrical oscillations through a predetermined'range to establish resonance'in the workpiece, the frequency output from theelectrical systemdncluding said first transducer being subject to variation as the capacitance of the electric system varies, and means for calibrating the resonance frequencies independent of said capacitance variations,

the said variations in frequency output of the electric system, means for electrically isolating the calibration means from the work piece measuring means, and a single indicating means for indicating the resonance points of the calibration piece and the work piece through said predetermined range.

2. Measuring means for a work piece as specified in claim 1, in which the indicating means is an oscilloscope having horizontal and vertical sets of plates, a sweep circuit for generating a sweep between one set of plates, means for synchronizing thesweepcircuit and the means for cyclically varying the frequency of the electrical oscillations through the predetermined range, and means whereby the outputs from said first and third piezo-electric transducers are appliedto said other set of oscilloscope plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENIS 2,514,482 Farmer'; July 11,1950 2,612,772 McConnell Oct. 7, 1952 2,667,063 'Cunningham Jan. 26, 1954 

